The Raven and the Crow
by JuneGilbertVivianRaeven
Summary: Raeven Soong is a jaded, lonely duelist. Even as one of the Satellite's top new duelists, even with her twin sister Sing by her side, she is still alone and prefers it that way. Till she falls in with three familliar boys... Will "The Bullet" succede in shattering the ice of Raeven's lifelong barriers? Or will Raeven fall in love with the wrong boy to do the job? Read on to see!
1. Chapter 1 Meet Your Narrator

Song Bird Duelists

A Tale of Love and Betrayal in The Satellite

By: June

Chapter One: Meet Your Narrator

I yawned, waking up languidly at four in the morning in the bed at our place in Satellite. Swan lay in the bed next to mine, her almost white platinum blonde hair fluffed over her face as she snored softly. I smirked. My twin never could master the art of sleeping without doing something stupid. Like her limbs splaying everywhere, or her mouth hanging open, or those soft, almost delicate snores she made. I snagged my jet black feather hair pins, the fraternal twin to Swan's white feather and cubic zirconia hair pins, and put them both into the jewelry box I kept solely for this purpose. If anyone saw me with it on they might make the connection between my two lives. The different things about the hair pieces were that they were decorated with black paint and had an onyx stone instead of a cubic zirconia. Sing and I prided ourselves on how similar we were; even though we were fraternal twins, we were as close as any pair of sisters living in the Satellite of New Domino City could ever be. I only knew another trio who was ever as close as we were.

My name is Raeven Soong. My twin is Sing Soong, and we ruled the Dueling Underground in the Satellite as the Swan and the Raven, the Songbirds. Sing is the sweet one, comparatively. I'm her strength and guile on the dueling field; she's the flashy, gorgeous distraction to our opponents. Sing's ethereal build, lush platinum hair and contrasting black eyes made for a bewitching combination that distracts from my own darker strength. She could keep the eyes of any man off of me, leaving me free to lay the groundwork for our inevitable wins. The opponents never know what hit them when my Herald summons my ultimate monsters to blow them away, literally. There had been a few times we had lost, but those had been when we were still learning how to duel together.

Now, at least, we never lost a match. Depending on the opponent and whether we dueled together, our opponents usually got out alive. If I dueled alone, however, my opponents inevitably ended up dead. Probably what instilled so much fear into the dueling residents of our district. I mean, who wouldn't fear a girl (or a pair of girls) who could take you down from the inside out with your own worst fears and leave you raving mad or worse?

But I'm getting off topic.

I rose from the ragged bed and fished out my street clothes. The situation in Satellite may have improved when Team 5Ds had pushed the bridge through, but many of the Satellite's residents still were labeled trash. Filthy, inferior. We simply took revenge for those who couldn't fight back against the stuck up assholes in New Domino. I dressed in the black long sleeved beatnik top, a long matching skirt and black furry boots. It was nearing Christmas time, and the Satellite could be mercilessly cold some days. It was even worse at night with no sun and a cold wind howling around your bare ears. I should know, having been a street rat of the Satellite all the days of my life. Until now. I was going to have honest work that didn't involve dueling so I could always be sure of money in my pocket; money that would pay for my and my sister's shelter without us having to resort to stealing again. I would never be a helpless Satellite orphaned brat, and neither would my sister be ever again. However, I had never truly been helpless.

The irony to my life was that no one ever suspected that the taciturn Raeven Soong, aspiring cook, was the somewhat glamorous and powerful psychic duelist Raven, co- ruler of a whole Dueling Kingdom. Or, rather, a Queen-dom ever since the Enforcers left the Satellite for New Domino and other places. I smiled quietly. Cooking in my own restaurant was only a fallback dream, because I was living my dream life right now. No connections besides my sister, nothing to worry about except keeping my duel deck in top form and my sister from losing our tandem duels and our duel runners running. Fairly relaxed, for a duelist's life. I never went to tournaments in foreign places because tournaments like that stressed Sing out badly. Tournaments stressed Sing out badly enough to make her the exact reverse of the sweetie she usually was.

Slipping my two decks into a hip pouch and my duel disk on my arm, I knew I was ready to go. I had two decks mainly so my disguise would be maintained, but I loved both decks and their ultimate monsters. Thantos and Rave Queen worked great in tandem too, but Thantos was strictly for turbo duels while Rave Queen was for both.

I shook my head crossly, realizing I was getting off track yet again. In both dueling and cooking, you could never afford to get off track. In dueling, especially Turbo Dueling, if you got distracted, it could well cost your life and worse, the duel. In cooking, you could get seriously injured if you weren't paying attention. I sighed and put my hair back into its typical ponytail. Time to go to work. I went out into the bitterly cold air of November, shuddering and wishing I had remembered my jacket when I had visited Martha's house last night. I just had to share my victory with the woman who had saved me from starving to death many times when I was a child. We had celebrated with cup ramen I had brought and some more expensive sweet treats. I had treated all the little brats still up at the hour I visited my Mother reluctantly, under prodding from Martha. I had never really liked spending time with the kids.

It reminded me too much of when Martha had found us, starving, three years old and alone except for each other on her doorstep.

I practically owed my life to the Hispanic woman. Martha had taught me how to cook, and I had taken to it like a duck to water. She was so proud of my skills, just like I had imagined a real mother would have been. I smiled as I stuck my hands in the pockets of my beatnik skirt. Martha had been the only mother I had ever known. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried not to think of the mean boy who had dogged my steps at my time in Martha's house. Blond haired and violet eyed, he had ridiculed me for being a weak duelist time after time. However, when he started hurling abuse at Sing when her psychic power had awakened, I had jumped him. Even if he was two years older and gave me a black eye during the fight, I had gotten stronger for it. Not long after the fight I found out about my own psychic gifts, which were stronger than Sing's.

And darker. MUCH darker.

Martha had cheered me up some after this incident with the blond boy, but what had really lifted my spirits was a burning drive that this had instilled in me. I would never again be helpless before a male's abuse. _Not so weak now am I boy? _I thought rather spitefully as I kicked a can on the still cracked and broken sidewalk.

Signs of the Satellite's desolation was still everywhere in my neighborhood. Hulking structures of concrete menaced you from the shadows of the pre-dawn light, the sidewalk overgrown with weeds and trash still choking spots even on the streets. I lived here mostly because it was all a struggling cook on a pinch-penny salary could afford, as well as it was close to the Duel Arena. It kept down suspicion of our Dueling prize money and Sing and I could walk to our arena in complete secrecy. Then again, no opponent had ever managed to get our black and white masks off. As I said, no opponent had defeated us for years. Some had come close, yes, but never actually managed it. I smiled at the good memories flickering through my mind as I passed the massive, Coliseum like structure that housed most of Satellite's Turbo Duels. I blew a kiss to the massive iron gates, winking my grey eyes at the door so many of my opponents entered and never came out. I turned back to the sidewalk, humming softly as I headed to the Desiree, the diner style resteraunt I worked in.

Little did I know a cawing crow had preceded me.

* * *

**Crow will join the story later, I promise! This is my first time inserting an OC as a main charecter into a YuGiOh! 5Ds fic. What do you think of Raeven? Is she at all fitting for Crow? What do you think of the Coliseum-like Duel Arena? Please Please review and tell me what you think! :) **

**Any ideas for the direction of this story are very welcome. I started this a while ago and I have been dying to post it and share it with all of you. ^^ Be paitent with me please, but a bit of nagging me to update is appreciated. :) Thank you. **

**-June**


	2. Chapter 2 Memories of Home

Song Bird Duelists

A Tale of Love and Betrayal in The Satellite

By: June

Chapter Two: Memories of Home

I was within sight of the restaurant when I heard a little boy crying. Screaming, begging more like.

"No! Please! Don't hurt her! Don't hurt my onee chan!"

"This is what you get for sneaking into our territory little boy!"

There was the sound of a boot connecting with a small chest, and a pained cry from the chest's owner.

I froze when I heard it, memories surfacing at the speed of light. How many times I had screamed and pleaded the thugs of the Satellite to do the same. To not hurt Sing, my gentler other half. I often took what they planned to give Sing. The matted scars on my back throbbed in memory as I looked over to where I heard the screaming. A little black haired, dark skinned boy, looking about six years old, was pleading with two men -one man tall and powerfully built, the other short and with the build of a couch warrior- in an alley on the other side of the street. One of which, the short, corpulent one with a duel disk on his arm stood over an unconscious little blonde girl of the same skin color, no older than ten.

I growled, my powers spiking. The lids of metal trashcans nearby started to rattle as I prowled toward the menacing men and the quaking boy. _How dare they hurt children so young? HOW DARE THEY?!_ My fists clenched, I didn't notice when one of my quirkiest monsters, Jynx Merchant, popped up behind me. His ghost white face with the purple triangles under his eyes leered at me as he came to life.

"Ah ah ah, Raeven, you've gone and lost your temper again," the odd little man cackled, making me jump. His bright violet bag of Jynx tokens jingled merrily as he smirked at me with that too wide grin he almost always wore. His outfit was a hodge podge of a tuxedo, a jester's outfit and a pair of old fashioned boots this time, with his green hair being in its usual disarray. On his card, he was simply hooded and wore the jynx token bag at his side, but he LOVED to change outfits. I swear he did it just to annoy me.

"Rats. Why did it have to be you this time?"

"Oooo, touchy touchy," Jynx cackled, putting what was meant to be a soothing hand on my shoulder. It wasn't really very soothing as the Duel Spirit had six fingers and his touch felt like icewater. Which creeped me out but his usefulness outweighed such quirks. Although there are points when I wonder why I even keep him in my deck.

"Get off of me," I growled, "And do something to help those two!"

"Not if you're going to be this sulky about me being pulled out of your deck…."

"Urgh! Fine! I'm sorry I said that! Now move!"

"You don't sound too sorry," Jynx grumbled, nonetheless plucking a coin from his pocket as my duel disk flicked out to allow him to attack. The coin grew larger as I quickly sidestepped to allow him room.

That was when the thugs spotted us. The thugs' eyes bugged out of their heads for a moment when they saw Jynx and me, like they couldn't believe a shorty like me would go on the attack, and then the tallest one smirked. Both tall and short men flexing their muscles and glaring, they advanced on me. Obviously under the EXTREMELY erroneous impression that I was just being cocky and would also be an easy target like the children they had been attacking earlier. I grinned fiercely as I prowled forward to meet their charge. Jynx cackled madly as he drifted along with me.

"Who do you think you are girlie?"

"We are the Sun and Moon Brothers! We are unconquerable! We took this territory fair and square," the shorty boasted, advancing with a leer as he looked far too long at my body, "You aren't the cutest girl we've met, but we can make an exception for you, I've always liked bitches with black hair-mmmph!"

My fist connected with his mouth. Or would have, if Jynx's pale fist hadn't done it first. _Apparently he had used my moving fist as an excuse to attack these idiots directly_, I thought as I placed the spell card that would end this mess. Overhead, the waning moon seemed to bleed as it turned to a dark crimson.

"Why are you accosting my mistress, boys? Shouldn't you be playing nice with some other girl, ANYWHERE ELSE," Jynx queried, his yellow-green eyes flipping from their normal color to crimson red.

The idiots hadn't noticed that I had played my Red Moon spell card. Obviously, it gave some of my monsters… unexpected attributes. Specifically, it made Jynx Merchant turn from practical joker to, well, something these punks wouldn't want to meet in their worst nightmare duel. Much less when I called him to the field where he could do all the damage he wanted.

"Shit! A psychic duelist!"

"No, Duel Monsters aren't supposed to talk OR do that! Don't psychic duelists have to go by the rules of the game too?"

"But she just summoned a talking monster! What the hell is she?!"

"M-monster! Run Delphos! We'll get the little punks later for trespassing!"

I gritted my teeth, ignoring the thugs backing up, fear stamped in their piggy eyes. Monster, fiend, cursed, abomination and worse. I had been called a hell of a lot of names in my life, but it still hurt every time. No matter how numb I tried to be in other people's prescence, no matter how much I tried to shut myself off from humanity, the grade A way to make me mad was to call me a monster. Grade B way being picking on little kids. My blue-black hair started to glow white around the edges as my anger spiked, and with it my power. My fists were white knuckled as I glared at the backing up punks.

_Why does everyone hate me? Why do they call me an abomination? _

Beside me, Jynx cackled madly, his mad crimson eyes sparkling as he wound up to toss the now massive coin. I moved over to the kids, ignoring the thugs' frightened edging away from me. The boy had moved in front of his sister's bruised body, bravely attempting to block the giant metal disk he thought was meant for them. He staggered wearily, which was when I saw the blood trickling from his mouth and muddy tear tracks on his cheeks. Rage spiked even higher, I managed to cloak it just in time to stop from scaring him further. I moved in front of the boy, impassive as he stared up at me from his kneeling position with wide, fearful black eyes. I hoped that he wasn't afraid of me. My heart hurt as I watched the tears still falling down his too thin face. The Coin Toss attack would do no harm to me, and by extension, the kids if I had anything to say about it.

"Jynx! Show these punks what happens when they pick on little kids!"

Screams and pounding footsteps resounded as Jynx threw his best attack, howling with laughter at the thugs' hasty retreat. The by now huge coin rumbled past me, seeking the retreating thugs. Two dull thunks later and I smiled grimly when the usual pain hit, blood trickling from my lower lip. A price was always paid when I used my gift. Masochist I was not, but I did love hearing the sound of revenge. I knelt, looking directly into the younger boy's eyes. He did seem unharmed except for the fact his mouth was wide open and he was staring at me with an expression of wonder. I grinned, trying to be friendly even as my aching mouth made it more like a grimace; it had been a long time since I had seen that particular expression on any child's face when they neared me. I didn't want him to be scared. Many children only knew me as the remote, strange girl who visited Martha once every month with Sing in tow (or more often if we had defeated a particularly tough opponent) and sometimes came with them to a special field trip.

"What's your name kid?"

"M-manabe, ma'am. My sister's name is Mai." He was holding her small, limp hand

My grin eased up a little. So the kid was nervous but respectful. Good.

"My name's Raeven. Would you like to go to a place where you and your sister can get some food and shelter? Your sister can also get a doctor's help."

"Wh-what do we have to pay? Those thugs took all our food… We've got nothing to pay you with…. I can't repay you now as is! You saved me and Mai-"

Inwardly grinding my teeth at those damnable punks, I managed to keep a straight face as I interrupted, "Nothing. It's all free. The person who runs this place is very kind and a friend of mine. And you don't have to thank me. Just come with me."

Manabe's black eyes widened, "F-f-free? You mean it's all free? Really? Mai and I don't have to pay?"

"Really really. Martha's house is open to everyone."

"Ms. Martha? You know her?" Manabe's eyes lit up with hope even as he started coughing. More blood spattered from his lips.

I blinked in surprise as I caught him, standing him upright when he finished coughing. Surely this kid wasn't one of Martha's. She would never let them stray this far into dangerous territory without scouring the whole of Satellite to find them, not to mention raising the roof with anger and worry. She treated every child that came into her care as her own. _Hell hath no fury like a mother protecting her children, _I thought wryly, _Even if she's just a foster mother, Martha's fury can be terrible to behold. You hurt one of her kids and there is NO holding back. Not to mention she fostered three of the greatest duelists to ever come out of the Satellite, all three of whom would duel to the death to protect her and her kids. _ I mentally shook my head to get the irking memories of the Enforcers out of my mind, and focused back on Manabe.

"Have you been to Martha's before?"

Manabe looked faintly embarrassed and a little upset, "Yeah. We were taking a field trip to the park with Martha and Big Brother, and I wanted to talk to Big Brother and show him some stuff I drew for him. When I looked, I couldn't find him and then I started looking and looking, holding my drawings, but I still couldn't find him! So I wandered away from the group, but big sister Mai found me an' said I shouldn't' t have gone that far. But, ummm…." His cheeks darkened as he fidgeted nervously, his curly black hair bouncing as he stalled.

"But what?" I prompted with as much patience as I could muster, unintentionally scowling. I mentally winced when my tone came out harsher than intended. _Note to self, must work on conversation skills…._ Manabe must have realized my patience was growing thin, because he started to babble.

"And, and we got lost because onee chan couldn't remember the way she had come, and we couldn't s-see the group no more! So we went back to our old hideout, but those meanies had taken it over! They wanted to duel me, but I didn't have a deck, so they t-t-tore up the drawings for Big Brother and hit big sister and she fell down like she is now," Manabe babbled, misery clear in his eyes as he held up two halves of grimy paper, the drawing illegible now.

Then his eyes began to shine again with that same wonderment that they held when he saw me up close, "And then you came along! When you told that funny crazy man to attack, you looked just like Big Brothers when they duel! Only duels for big brothers are usually on a Duel Runner…. Do you have a Duel Runner?"

Inwardly smirking at Jynx (who was still chasing the thugs) being called "that funny crazy man", I sighed, "Yes, and you can ride on it in a minute. Stay with your sister and yell if you find trouble."

"Trouble finds me, not the other way around!" Manabe scowled in embarrassment.

"Alright, alright," I muttered exasperatedly, already getting irked by how fast the kid recovered from his scare, "Yell if trouble finds you or the other way around, whatever. I need to get out from between the buildings to call my Duel Runner, okay?"

"Okay."

I headed out. Rather than use our prize money to buy better habitation, my sister and I used our money to better our Duel Runners. Me being the mechanic of the family, I had invented a way to call our Duel Runners to us remotely, as well as a defense system. Anyone who wasn't me or my sister (or a recognized guest user) got a sharp zap. If they tried again, they would get increasingly harder shocks. If you were too hard headed to realize that the shocks wouldn't stop, they eventually reached killing level, but at least I had put in an alarm connected to our respective duel disks at some point so that we would know if someone got that far. Sure deterred the few thieves who tried to steal runners. When we had money left over from my visits to the parts vendor and paying the bills, however, Sing would insist we treat the kids at Martha's and Martha herself to ice cream or some other silly treat. I disdained those outings, but it made me happy to see Martha smile so I went anyway more often than not.

Out of one of my silver and black hip pouches, I pulled a slim remote. Clicking the required formula of buttons, I waited coolly, watching for my Duel Runner. Soon enough, the black and white Duel Runner made its appearance, the decorative white feathers on the front of the screen area a welcome sight. I smiled. Flyte wasn't my first Duel Runner; I had crashed Freedom Flier, an earlier model of my current Duel Runner, beyond repair in one of my most painful losses when I was still training. Flyte had never failed me yet in a Turbo Duel. I still kept the mostly repaired husk of Freedom in my favorite dueling area, the abandoned junkyard. Freedom's green and white husk had been installed with the same security system as Flyte, but there weren't viable parts within Freedom anymore, so I had no idea why anyone would steal it. I was just rather protective of the first and second Duel Runners I had built that actually worked. Normally, nobody but Sing got to ride my new Duel Runner.

Well, nobody said this was a normal situation.

The black wings that adorned the sides of Flyte's slender body curved from the front of the Duel Runner back to the gracefully curved tail feathers that gleamed like jet, just brushing the ground as they curved over my back wheel. The front of my Duel Runner looked like a bird's head, gleaming yellow lights below the white crest standing in for eyes and the white pointed frontal tip standing in for a beak. The feathers on the back of my runner served a double purpose; they allowed for one extra seat built in and straps, hidden under the feathers, allowed me to lash things on to the back to carry stuff. At least the kids were small enough to both fit on Flyte. On a good day, I could fit Sing into that seat when she nagged me for a ride. I glanced back at Manabe and called impatiently, "Hey, what are you waiting for? This is our ride."

Manabe was struggling to lift the still unconscious Mai. He started coughing again, dropping Mai. She would have hit the ground if I hadn't intervened. Hoisting the girl into my arms with a quiet grunt, I said, "Manabe? Can you hold onto your sister for me? Your seat is on the back."  
When he stopped coughing, Manabe gazed wonderingly at Flyte, "I get to ride this?"

Finally losing what was left of my short fuse, I snapped, "Yes! Now get your tail on there and try not to let your sister fall off!"

Manabe quickly scrabbled on, holding one of the wings I had so painstakingly painted. I took and released a deep breath, stifling the immediate urge to yell at him. I didn't like when kids or anyone touching my Duel Runner. That was how my first one got wrecked.

Easing the shivering ten year old onto the seat next to Manabe, I helped him get his arms securely around her. Then I remembered something. Dashing back around to the front of Flyte, I grabbed a familiar smaller helmet and the normal sized spare I kept for Sing. Getting back around, I plopped the spare on Mai's head; thankfully the helmet fit her. She did have a rather large head for her slender neck. I plopped the other helmet on Manabe- it was an old one from when I was younger I had been fiddling with earlier- and was relieved when it fit. Manabe gave me a confused look.

"This is so you're safe if anything comes up. Stay there and hold onto the runner and Mai at all costs. Got it?"

He nodded vigorously as I, for extra safety, awkwardly used the straps for extra insurance on him staying in. I walked around, not even nervous about riding without my black helmet. I had always gotten a rush from such danger; however, I quickly reminded myself, I shouldn't take risks with kids on board. Kids who were already injured enough as is. I slid easily into the seat, worn from the many times I'd slid in like this, anticipating a Turbo Duel that got my blood pulsing fast and burning hot. I had used to live for moments like that. However, my first crash had cooled my thirst for adrenaline for a while. Shaking my head to clear it, I automatically slipped into ready position. With a smooth whirr, my engine started and I steered my Duel Runner towards Martha's home.

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**Chapter Two is up! :D I like writing Raeven. What do you think of her? What do you think of Manabe so far? How am I at describing Raeven's Duel Runner? How am I doing? Please review!**

**Crow will enter in the next chapter, I promise! :)**

**-June **


	3. Chapter 3 Enter the Dragon

Song Bird Duelists

A Tale of Love and Betrayal in the Satellite

By: June

Lark Bunting

Chapter Three: Enter the Dragon

The sky was beginning to look stormy. The clouds were a thunderous grey, the chill air tense even as we rode. Manabe had been fairly quiet on the back of my Duel Runner; except for the occasional yelp if I turned too quickly, he hadn't made a peep. I eased the Duel Runner to a stop next to Martha's house, in one of the spots she reserved for Duel Runners. No other Duel Runners were in sight around the two story cottage. _Good. I won't have to deal with any of the 5Ds team today. Maybe they're out looking for this squirt. Even so, it's good to be home, _I thought, taking in a deep lungful of the rain-scented air. Prowling around to the back of my Duel Runner, I undid the straps and hefted Mai out. I was starting to get tired; this kid was hard to carry for me when I'd used such an amount of my power. I blinked and shook the customary dizziness off. The blood had stopped coming from my lips at some point during the ride, and I wiped off what remained with my sleeve. Manabe dashed ahead of me as I walked to the door.

"Martha! Miss Martha! I'm home!"

Martha ran out as fast as she could hear his voice. Sweeping Manabe into her arms, Martha cried scoldingly, "Naughty boy, you had us all worried! Where is your sister? Did she come with you or is she lost somewhere else?"

"No Miss Martha! That lady rescued us," Manabe managed, pointing to me.

"Manabe, it's rude to point…. Ah! Raeven. Welcome back," Martha said, beaming at me until her eyes fell on little Mai.

"What happened? Fill me in as we take her to the doctor," Martha said, abruptly slipping into her role as general of her household as she carried a coughing Manabe in herself, "Make it both of these children going to the doctor, actually."

I filled her in on what happened with the thugs and how Manabe got lost, trying to stay upright as I carried Mai.

"I'd have the boys help, but Crow is on a grocery run, Yusei is overloaded with mechanic work and Jack is, well, away."

"I know. I'm fine Martha."

Over her shoulder Martha shot me a gimlet eyed look, "You don't fool me one bit Raeven Soong. I know summoning Jynx Merchant takes a lot out of you and don't tell me different. It's a wonder you haven't passed out. I remember so many times when you over-extended yourself and landed in the Infirmary. Poor Sing was worried sick every time. Manabe, stop fidgeting."

Manabe obediently stopped fidgeting and coughed softly. From the look in his eyes, he obviously didn't like the idea of going to the clinic. I smiled wanly, trying to comfort him. I had never liked ending up in the clinic either, but when I was older and testing my power's limits, I often passed out from over using it. I ended up in the clinic with an extremely worried Martha and Doctor Hernandez every time. And I, more often than not, got irked at myself for worrying a selfless person like Martha. Eventually I learned my limits, all the while keeping my Dueling ambitions a secret from everyone but Martha (and, eventually, Doctor Hernandez-because he found out when I carried a bloody opponent of mine into his office before passing out myself).

She couldn't understand why I hid my talent, but I had had too many die at my hands during a duel on accident when I lived on the streets. I didn't want to duel one of the children at the center and have them end up dead-or worse, insane. I followed Martha on automatic as the door to the clinic opened. At thirteen, I had learned to mostly control my power, or so I thought. Thirteen had been my unlucky year, because I had killed in front of Martha that year. Admittedly it was to defend her, and she still loved me afterward, but I still felt horrible.

"Raven!"

I blinked, abruptly snapped out of the fog of memories by Martha's sharp command. Martha smiled ruefully at me.

"We're here. Put Mai-chan on the bed."

I obediently eased the little girl into the bed next to Manabe. Doctor Hernandez, an older Hispanic man with grey around his temples, came over to us. I raised a hand in a perfunctory hello. I wasn't in the mood for talking as it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. Along with the bleeding at the mouth, using my power, especially in anger, exhausted me. He smiled kindly, his brown eyes crinkling fondly as they always did when he saw Martha. Martha smiled a little tightly in return. We had long thought those two liked each other, and Sing and I could never figure out why they hadn't gotten married. I had to convince Sing out of SO many matchmaking attempts for the two of them I had failed to remember how many times. A ghost of a smile tugged at my lips in memory.

"Raeven! How nice to see you again. Now, who do we have here Martha?"

"The two children who've been lost for about a week, Manabe and Mai. Raeven found them and got them out of a tight spot they had gotten into with some thugs in the run down districts. She used quite a bit of her gift doing so, I'm afraid."

"Ah. Raeven, come lie down on one of the beds. I kept your favorite spot open."  
I blushed faintly. My favorite bed had always been the one by the window. I had personalized it over the years with occasional feather doodles in pen on the headboard. _Not the smartest idea but it sure kept me from doing something worse when I was sick or exhausted… Sing fussed at me for it, but the Doc never complained. Some of the other kids even complimented me on the drawings if they had the courage to talk to me. Of course, I never talked back much after I hit my teens and my powers started killing others. Too afraid that one wrong word from either party would set off my powers. And now I just don't know any other way to be…._

"Raeven…." Martha's voice had a warning ring to it.

"Sorry. Moving now General Martha."

Martha gave me a gentle swat with a rolled up newspaper as I dragged myself over to the old, ink-stained bedframe. Flopping onto it, I called over my shoulder, "Doc, you sure Manabe and Mai will be okay?"

"Of course, kiddo. You sleep off that power overuse. No offense, but you're looking like death warmed over. Get some sleep."

"Alright," I muttered drowsily, already drifting into dreamland as soon as my head hit the pillow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

I woke with a scream when the boom of thunder resounded throughout the room. There was absolutely no light coming in from the outside due to the heavy black storm clouds and sheeting silver rain. Lightning flashed, arching across the window in an insanely fast flash. Wildly I snapped up, hair already floating as the lights flickered on and off and I heard a distinctly male yelp. When the lights flickered weakly for the last time, half on half off, I caught a glimpse of a red haired man clutching his nose. Apparently he had bumped into a wall while the lights had been off. I growled in annoyance when the power flickered off for the final time.

"Who's in here?!"

The distinctly male voice made me jump. Scrabbling for a flashlight, I fell off the bed. Swearing angrily, I felt my way to the nightstand next to my bed. I knew the doctor kept flashlights in every one of these small, beat up dressers for the very reason that the electricity tended to go out every time there was a thunderstorm here. Bumping my knuckles I growled irritably as I found the scarred knob of the dresser. Ignoring the scrabbling movements of who-knew-what in the background, occasionally punctuated by the roar of thunder, I finally drew out the flashlight and turned it on. Its disturbingly weak beam illuminated the male figure, which raised a hand to shield his eyes. His mop of unruly orange hair was very familiar to me by now, as were the haphazard outfit he always seemed to wear covered in runner grease and road detritus. His brown coat was one he had had for several years, and so was pretty dirty with hard use, currently messed up with muck and leaves. I moved the light away from his eyes and he smiled in relief.

"It's Raeven."

"Oh, okay. Thought it was someone else," Crow chuckled embarrassedly, scratching the back of his head.

"Why are you here?"

"I was bringing in the bandages for the Infirmary when the lights went out. I couldn't see a thing and bumped into the door post by mistake. The bandages are around here somewhere…."

"Forget the bandages for now. Where is Martha?"

"Uhhh, she's down in the dining room taking a headcount of the little nerds-" Crow said. I heard no more because I had dashed past, taking the flashlight with me. With surefooted ness I dodged down the steps headlong, disregarding my safety as thunder boomed once more. I skidded into the candle-lit dining room just as Martha was finishing the headcount and Doctor Hernandez was double checking her count as the children were very fidgety. Some of them were terrified of thunder, necessitating dodges under the table every time lightning flashed or the roar of thunder disturbed the rapid pounding of the silvery rain. A little blonde girl was currently hiding under the table, while the candles on every available surface threw eerie shadows about the room that made a chill go up my spine. Shivering slightly, I went over to Martha. I vaguely heard swearing and bumping. Disregarding it, I spoke.

"Crow's here Martha. Are all the kids here?"

"We took a head count and we seem to be missing one…. But I've been wrong before… That's why Juan is re-counting for me. I hope my count was wrong, because if so, we are missing one of the most easily scared kids at my home right now. Remember Georgiana? I can't seem to find her…."

Inwardly I groaned. Georgiana was a five year old redheaded girl, with tanned, freckled skin and big pale blue eyes that overflowed with tears at every opportunity. Some boy or another was always frightening the wits out of her because it was so easy to do. Georgiana was a little reclusive and liked to read, but other than that the resemblance to me stopped there. She hated Duel Monsters, for Pete's sake… Georgiana was frightened by the monsters, especially Beast Types. She also rather disliked me as I tended to lose my temper when the kids cried, no exceptions made for her. We also may have clashed a few times over her tendency to cry at the drop of a hat. I sighed softly.

"I'll look for her outside. You look for her inside."

"Raeven, no! It's pouring out there," Martha cried out, shocked confusion in her eyes as I made for the door, "Juan, stop her!"

Doctor Hernandez tried to move to stop me, but I moved too fast for him. Bulling out the door without so much as a raincoat, I started gazing about for the distinctive ginger hair of the little girl. Jogging over the mud spattered ground, I battled through the high winds and lashing rain. Glancing briefly over the yard, I frowned worriedly when I foggily spotted the plateau cliffs backing Martha's cottage and the forest surrounding them. I hoped that she hadn't gone into the forest, because the plateau (especially near the edge) was extremely unstable. Rockslides could happen at the drop of a hat. Or, more accurately, at the first shout that happened anywhere near the cliffs.

_Where would a crybaby girl like Georgiana go to get away from the storm...? No, not the shed, she's afraid of the spider webs in there…. Not the playground, there isn't enough cover there to shelter her properly from the elements. A smart kid like Georgiana would know that…. Oh no. I think I know where she went…. The cellar doors are all too inviting to Georgiana… Plus we had the place fumigated for spiders not too long ago. Nothing to scare her in there, a dark, dry place for her to hide… _I promptly headed that way. Sure enough, Georgiana had picked the lock on the old storm cellars' doors. They weren't connected to the house, not really, so there was only the one way in. They were also too damn close to the cliffs for comfort. The iron lock hung open in the hastily shut doors' handles.

"Raeven! Geez, you're worrying the hell out of Martha! GET BACK INSIDE!"

I snarled over my shoulder at the too familiar redhead, "A CHILD IS OUT IN THIS MESS! I'M NOT LEAVING HER OUT HERE!"

We had to yell to be heard over the sudden drumroll of thunder. A spike of adrenaline went down my spine as I bent over to slide the rusty lock out of its haphazard placement. Tugging hard on the doors, I discovered they were waterlogged and hard to lift. Growling, I tugged harder until I felt skinny but definitely male arms come around my waist and saw hands grab the rusty metal door handles with me. With a grunt on both ends, we managed to pull the first door open. Shakily slipping from leaning against Crow's chest, I carefully padded down the spotty stairs, creaking as I went. I heard creaks behind me as I reached the bottom, staring about the gloom. With a sigh, I padded forward without the aid of a light. These cellars had been my hideaway since my powers came in. Of course, Georgiana didn't know that. I knew she was here when I heard faint, familiar whimpers from a particularly dark corner. I prowled toward the sound, ignoring the clang of an idiot tripping into a bucket behind me. Georgiana's carrot colored hair and bright blue sweater stuck out like a sore thumb amid the dusty browns, greys and blacks of everything else in the cellar.

Kneeling, I spoke, "Georgiana? Are you here kiddo?" I tried to sound nice; after all, I was worried about the kid.

_If only for Martha's sake…_

BOOM!

"WAAAAH!"

The shriek came the same moment the pounce did. Then a deafening screech and a spate of kicking and wailing came along. Snarling, I tried to get her off me, but she was scratching and the best I could do without activating my powers was shield my eyes. Suddenly, the weight and the snarling were off me and the whimpering started.

"Big Brother! Big Brother, this meanie scared me and I wanted-"

I snarled, cutting the lying crybaby off, "I was asking if she was here! She pounced on ME and then started kicking and-"

"No I did NOT!"

"Yes you did!"

I stood up, angry beyond words at this little liar. However, I would never hurt a child, no matter how impure. Especially not one of Martha's brood. I owed too much to that woman to be THAT in-grateful. My fists clenched even as I started to shiver from my bone-deep dousing in the rain. Some part of me registered that I should get out of here with Crow and Georgiana, get inside Martha's, get these wet clothes off and get warm, but Georgiana's next statement drove all such thought from my head.

"Nun-Uh! I didn't pounce on you, weird MONSTER girl who hates me-"

"WHAT?! YOU HATE ME YOU LITTLE PEST, I WAS THE ONE LOOKING AND LOOKING FOR YOU IN THE POURING RAIN-!" I shrieked, power starting to rattle the boxes and crates stacked in all dusty corners of the room. Crow blinked briefly, probably surprised by the gathering white aura around my body as well as the rattling surrounding him and Georgiana. I was on the verge of breaking my ultimate taboo when-

"HEY! BE QUIET YOU TWO!"

We were shocked into silence by Crow's annoyed bellow. He clicked on his flashlight, which was when I had dropped mine at some point looking for Georgiana in the squelch and rain. Crow shone it onto the ground, thankfully missing my eyes. Georgiana seemed somewhat soothed by the light, relaxing from her position in Crow's arms. I glared hatefully at Georgiana. _This is your entire fault, you little brat. If you hadn't gotten lost, I wouldn't be in this mess… _Georgiana whimpered aloud, her big pale blue eyes mesmerized for a moment by the depth of hate I hadn't realized I was showing. She started to tremble, and burrowed into Crow's shirt.

"First off, Raeven, you had no right to yell at Georgiana like that, she's just a little kid and of course she got scared. She didn't recognize you in this pitch black darkness. Stop glaring at her like that." Crow's sharp tone rankled me badly.

I clenched my chattering teeth, turning my grey steel glare on Crow instead. He didn't even bat an eyelash, much to my surprise. His steel colored eyes were tranquil as he faced up to my angry stare.

"Georgiana, you weren't right to hit Raeven like that or call her names when she was just trying to help you out. Say you're sorry." Crow's tone was gentler, but firm.

"But, but, Big Brother! She's scary mean! I shouldn't say sorry! She should say sorry for calling me a brat! I'm not a brat, am I?" Georgiana whimpered, her eyes filling.

I snarled, throwing up my hands, "She won't apologize. She's SUCH a fucking brat-"

"Hey, hey! No name calling! And watch your language, Raeven. Will you apologize if Raeven does Georgia?"

The pouty child sullenly nodded.

"But she has to do it first."

I growled, not liking this. The brat wanted me to apologize. I NEVER apologized, except to Sing. Sing was different. I truly felt sorry if I hurt her. As it was, I was totally unrepentant for calling the little carrot head exactly what she was. Forcibly stoppering my powers to keep from making anything fall down on us, I sighed.

I managed, through my teeth, "I'm sorry for calling you a brat."

_Which is exactly what you are, you spoiled little… _I cut off the thought. No need to be indulging in any more "name calling" than I already had.

"Den I'm sorry I called you a monster. And hit you. An' everything else," Georgiana said sulkily, turning her face away from me into Crow's sopping coat again. I huffed. Neither of us sounded sorry, but it was a start.

Crow grinned in relief, his steel colored eyes sparkling faintly even in the gloom still not dissipated by his flashlight, "Okay, little nerd, now that we've got that cleared up, ready to go back upstairs?"

"Yeah."

The tranquil moment was shattered the minute something huge slammed into the left gaping door way.

* * *

**Okay, this is a revamp because a freind spotted a major plothole in the chapter before I fixed it. Okay, review and read on!**

**-June**


	4. Chapter 4 Rocks, Rooks and Roars

Song Bird Duelists

A Tale of Love and Betrayal in the Satellite

By: June

Chapter Four: Rocks, Rooks, and Roars

Georgiana screamed aloud at the splintering of wood and grinding of rock against metal, dust showering from everywhere as the stacks of items trembled from the impact of the boulder. Admittedly, I had jumped as well at the barrage of noise as well as a VERY manly scream from Crow. After the first salvo of frightening noise and dust showers, everything was eerily quiet. All that could be heard was three hearts pounding sharply as I slowly realized everything had gone quiet. The dust that was scattered everywhere made it hard to se, but my ears still worked.

Rough, pained breathing could be heard as I looked about. Some of the boxes, stacked far too high to be good, had toppled over. An inert form lay under the stack, an arm lay out at an odd angle, revealing what looked to be a tail of a dragon branded into the tanned flesh. I followed the arm to a male torso and a head of bright orange hair. I cried out as I realized Crow was UNDER that mess. I started tugging hard, eliciting a faint moan from Crow. I quickly realized I wouldn't be able to get him out like this without hurting him.

I knelt next to him and called, "Georgiana! Come over here!

The little girl scurried over, a wail of shock escaping her when she saw Crow buried under the heavy boxes. I pulled her into my arms on instinct, petting her gently then holding her at arm's length. I looked steadily into her eyes as I said, "Georgiana. I need you to pull Crow out from under the boxes when I tell you to. Do as I say and we WILL get out of this mess okay, no matter what happens. Weird stuff may happen, but you won't get hurt. Understood?"

She nodded, pale blue eyes riveted on me. Right then I was feeling the pressure of her gaze. I was the only adult to her in this situation, and she was practically programmed to obey adults. I took a deep breath and released her. Sliding my hand to my deck at my hip, I mentally prayed _Come to me friends. Back me up as I try to save Crow. Rave Soldiers, I summon thee!_

The medieval soldiers appeared next to me. The Lv 3 Rave Soldiers, two of them, were solemn faced as they braced themselves on either side of the main box pinning Crow.

"Heave soldiers," I ordered, using a little telekinesis to back them up. Grunting and straining, they managed to lift the box off of Crow.

"Now Georgiana! Tug Crow out while they can still hold the box!"

She obeyed with alacrity, eliciting a moan of pain from Crow. At least I knew he was still alive. I groaned as I let the crate smack back down, my monsters disappearing in flashes of light. Ugh. That had drained me further than defending Manabe and Mai had done. Catching my breath, I refocused on the little girl who was presently cuddling into Crow's side and sobbing as though her heart would break. I needed to help her, no matter how much I disliked the squirt.

"Georgiana… You did great. Come here."

"Nooo! What are you?! How did you m-m-make those monsters solid?!""

I felt that in my heart as I managed, "I'm a psychic duelist hon. I can call monsters and make them real."

"Freaky! I've never heard of psych whatevers!"

"That's because you're young. Come here, I won't hurt you," I pleaded, reaching my hand out. Georgiana stared at it suspiciously.

"No! You're weird! Way weirder than I thought at first! Why should I come to you?!"

Then I resorted to guilt-tripping, "You promised you would do as I said!"

"That was before I figured out what you are! You're a-a-"

"Don't say it!"

My voice roared over the tail end of the sentence. I had almost lost control, but I quickly reined myself in when I saw what had happened. Georgiana had started to cry before she finished the sentence. I wearily pulled the girl into my arms. Gently rocking her, I started to sing an old lullaby, _"Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home, a band of angels come' after me, coming' for to carry me home. I looked over Jordan, and what did I see, coming for to carry me home? A band of angels coming after me, coming for to carry me home…"_

I had to sing the old hymn three times through for Georgiana to fall asleep. Wearily, I used my powers to ferret around for some blankets. After fluffing out the dust, I made a nest for the small girl in them in a safe spot, free of boxes in the middle of the room. Feeling all the weaker for having used my powers, I tucked the musty blankets around Georgiana and turned back to Crow. I jumped in shock when I saw his eyes were open.

* * *

**Crow's POV**

She seemed surprised that I was awake. Well, me too after that lullaby she was singing. Who knew Raeven had an amazing voice? Sure not me. She was always so quiet and withdrawn when we were kids… Well, either quiet or chewing out Jack.

Man, had those two fought. Jack had been obnoxiously glad when we separated from Martha at our teenage years- just so that he didn't have to deal with the "irritating little nobody" as he called Raeven then. And now, probably. I blinked to clear my head of those particular memories. They always irked me more than any other, mostly because Yusei had been the one, nine times out of ten, that got Jack off Raeven's back. Something about her just rubbed Jack the wrong way. Then again, you could say the same thing about me.

"Crow?"

Raeven's voice was a dusty croak. Her grey eyes, black in the semi-darkness of the room, were wider than normal and dilated. She was scared. And upset. I tried to reach an arm over to comfort her, but something seemed to be wrong with my arm. My dueling arm. I started to panic just a bit at that; I started coughing as the panic tightened my chest uncomfortably. Suddenly, Raeven was there, pulling me carefully onto her lap, propping me up and holding me through the coughing fit. Barely managing to catch my breath, I looked up at her in confusion. I already knew Raeven didn't like personal contact; yet, here she was, holding me and helping me through a painful experience. Pale arms smoothed my shirt, which was when I realized I was propped up against her breasts.

Any sane guy would be having a nosebleed right now, but I was concentrating on not giving in to the tickle in my throat. All those boxes falling had stirred up a heck of a lot of dust. I didn't want to cough again because then I'd risk looking REALLY foolish in front of her.

"Crow? Are you really awake?"

"Yeah. I'm okay, Rae," I managed, attempting to sit up, only to be sat right back down by firm hands. It was a mark of how tired I was that I didn't struggle.

"Don't try to get up. And don't call me Rae," Raeven said, sounding mildly tweaked at her new nickname. I grinned faintly, and then winced. _Note to self, grinning hurts. Must have fallen on my face when whatever hit me…_I sighed as Raeven moved to prop me up against a box. _So much for more contact with her._

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Not really. We were down here with Georgiana… Wait! Where is she," I asked, mildly alarmed that I couldn't see the red headed kid. After all, the kid is why I was down here in the first place!

"Stop freaking out. She's a couple of feet to your left. Turn your head and you can see her."

I did so, and was majorly relieved when I spotted Georgiana, sound asleep on a pile of blankets. I released a breath I hadn't known I was holding.

"So are we stuck in here?"

"Apparently. Our only exit is covered by a large boulder."

I groaned. _Great. Just great. I'm stuck down here with two girls, one of them a girl who isn't the friendliest in the world… Well, both of them aren't too friendly, to each other anyway, but at least Georgia likes me. I have no idea where I stand with Raeven… Nobody ever does. She's quiet about her opinions until someone comes into conflict with them. Like Jack for instance. Sometimes I think the only ones she really likes are Martha, her sister and Yusei. _

"Sorry."

"Excuse me?" I grunted irritably when I slumped, attempting to right myself. Which was tough without both arms.

"I forgot my cell… We don't have a way to call for help…" I blushed as I said it- still trying to restrain the nosebleed from earlier as Raeven helped me to sit up. She gave me a funny look. I sighed. I was never at my best around the female sex, but with all that had happened in the last couple of minutes, wouldn't I be expected not to be really at my best or on my best behavior?

"That's fine. Martha will come looking for us, after the storm stops."

"Right. I keep forgetting we're at Martha's place…"

An uncomfortable silence descended over the basement after I said that. Raeven was looking away, but I couldn't tell in the dim, grey light that filtered through from the slim windows on the walls whether or not she was blushing. I wondered idly if she was, wincing when I felt my bad arm twitch involuntarily. I heard her expel a dusty sigh as she scooted closer to where I was, propped up on a box. I looked at her dark figure oddly; I wasn't used to this part of Raeven. She actually seemed to care what happened to me.

"Let me look at that…"

I let her take hold of my arm, trying not to yelp aloud in pain. Her thin fingers were cold as she probed my flesh, apparently looking for a break in the arm. I couldn't restrain a yelp when she found the worst spot of pain right now: my shoulder. Wincing, I yanked my arm out of her hands despite the pain.

"Ouch!"

"Don't be a baby. Your arm is dislocated. You probably landed on it funny when the boxes fell on you…"

"Man… I'm not going to be able to duel without this arm…"

"I know. It sucks…. I think I can help, though. At least, take the pain away for a while."

"Really," I said skeptically, looking at her with a cocked head, "Did the Doc teach you how to fix people Rae?"

"No, but… Hey! Stop calling me Rae! My NAME is Raeven."

"Sorry, sorry. Raeven it is, Rae," I said, grinning mischievously.

"Ugh! Maybe I shouldn't help!"

I heard her moving to stand. I panicked a little bit, afraid she would be leaving me in the dark with just Georgiana. Martha had raised me better than that.

"I'm sorry! What can I do to help? And what are you doing?"

"Find light, for one thing," Raeven muttered, a slight clanging and other miscellaneous noises indicating she was rummaging for something. I heard a contented noise and winced when I felt the rays of some sort of lamp shining at me.

"Ooops. Didn't meant to shine the lamp in your face," Raeven murmured, putting some sort of shade over her lamp and moving over to sit next to me. The dampened lamp cast eerie shadows about the room, making me wonder if someone had died down here and had now come back as a ghost to haunt us…. I shuddered. Better not think about it. My imagination was always a little too overactive….

"I'm okay. It doesn't hurt anymore…"

"Liar. Your arm still hurts, right?"

Reluctantly, I nodded. Raeven scooted closer to my arm, gently taking it in both pale hands. She was tiny and skinny, but her grip was like a steel trap. Raeven's face was calm in the lantern light; I wasn't sure I'd ever seen someone quite that composed. Except maybe Martha when she was really, really mad. Raeven's bony fingers probed briefly got a better grip then then she braced herself.

"You might want to brace yourself too. This is going to hurt."

Oh, how I hated her honesty a moment later.

* * *

**Raeven's POV**

Crow's yell was enough to raise the roof off this place. Or would have been, had he not been drowned out by a blast of thunder. I checked his arm, deigning not to notice his anime tears of pain.

"Good. I managed to get it right."

"M-managed? You mean you were winging it this entire time?!" Crow's voice was almost a squeak of indignation. Laughter bubbled out of my lips before I could stop it.

When I got control of myself, I couldn't blame him for shooting me a funny look. As if he were wondering whether or not I was crazy. _Thank god that my powers DON'T include reading the minds of others… Otherwise, I think I'd be in for a world of hurt right now…. He looks like he has one heckuva headache… Or his shoulder just hurts and he thinks I'm nuts to have done that when I wasn't really sure I could. _I sighed, blinking to clear my blurry vision. I had admittedly used some of my gift to guide me, drawing on the knowledge of my healer monster, the Mystical Elf. To be truthful, Doctor Hernandez had also taught me a trick or two in the days I had spent inside with him. Sing was always playing with someone, whether it was me or someone else, so when Sing decided to abandon me for the day I either spent my time cooking with Martha or helping Doctor Hernandez out. And often talking my sister and her buddies out of stupid, hare brained ideas that only they could think up.

My body swayed and slumped over_. It seems control is out of my hands for the moment_ I thought foggily.

"Raeven? Are you okay?"

"Nnn…."

That was all I could utter. Moaning faintly, I stretched out on the freezing stone of the floor. I couldn't be cramped up when this happened… _Not again… Not in front of Crow… _I started to cough harshly. Blood was starting to come up, and I couldn't stop the damn coughing.

Crow's frightened voice was calling to me from somewhere, but my foggy mind couldn't comprehend the words he was saying as he tried to shake me with one arm. _His Dueling arm must still be sore. . . Damn. Can't feel much. . . I need the Mystical Elf's help. . . But I haven't got the energy to summon her. . . Oh, Sing, where are you when I need you most? _ I felt a sharp smack delivered to the side of my cheek, and my ears abruptly focused back in on what Crow was almost yelling at me and my coughing (surprisingly) ceased.

"-Don't you dare leave me alone in here Raeven! Raeven! Wake up! Raeven! Raven, please! If this is a joke it isn't funny at all! Come on!"

I groaned faintly, curling into a ball, my head still resting in Crow's lap where he had put it at some point, "Shut up. I'll explain when I've had a nap… Just leave me be until I've slept some and I promise I'll explain…."

That explanation seemed to satisfy Crow, because he stopped fussing at me. I sighed in relief. His timely smack had saved me from losing a lot more blood than I was prepared to lose at the moment. I was feeling drowsy already, and it helped that he began to, tentatively, card his fingers through my still wet and dusty hair. The flickering light of my old lantern only added to the growing drowsy feelings.

I dozed off in moments.

* * *

**Dream Sequence**

* * *

**Raeven's POV**

I was running, but I couldn't remember from what. It was dark wherever I was, full of dark mist and an evil aura that sent chills down even my spine. I was starting to get scared. _Wasn't I just with Crow? Where's the cellar? Where is Georgiana? Wait… What's over there…? No… It can't be!_

I screamed aloud when I saw them, their rotten or bone white faces advancing from all sides. _Dammit! Why those cards?! Sooo creepy! _Zombie cards. Why did it have to be zombie cards?! I started running through the narrow gap between the gruesome advancing crowd of monsters. My heart pounding, I realized, as I ran on and on, there seemed to be no end to the monsters.

Tears started to roll down my face for the first time in years. I never cried, not even in my dreams. Yet, Zombie cards were pretty much the only type of card that could bring me to tears in fear. I had had too many of my opponents die on me to ever stand the sight of the rotting faces of the corpses. Or skeletons, as case may be. Another scream ripped from my throat when I felt a bone hand clutch with a death grip on my shoulder. Tearing on with the strength born of desperation, I shrieked when I realized I had torn an arm from The Lady in Wight. Whimpering, I detached it and threw it into the face of one of the oncoming Skull Servants.

_Crap! _Tripping over a prone, rotted arm I fell down into the morass of heaving, rotting body parts with a shrill scream. To my surprise, I landed on the back of something warm and scaly instead. The zombies angry, unsatisfied cries diminished swiftly as I rose higher and higher. I had stopped kicking and struggling out of pure shock at being rescued at all.

"_Raeven."_

The scenery below us changed from the dark-misted landscape to clouds and golden sunlight bouncing off of them, making the clouds shimmer with a golden glow. My heart was still pounding madly when I answered hesitantly, "Yes?"

"_Good. Your mind did not fall into The Breach." _

"What's The Breach? Where am I? Who are you?"

"_All will be answered in time, Raeven. All in good time."_

We dipped lower, revealing that we were still flying over the earth instead of in heaven. On we flew for what seemed like forever, the scenery changing from ripe golden fields, country roads and lush forests to a much more familiar scene: the new Daedalus Bridge. I smiled when I saw it, warm, protective feelings springing up inside my breast.

I felt a wash of protectiveness from the entity I rode upon; I soon realized that I rode a massive, crimson and golden dragon. The beast's coils wrapped loosely about New Domino and Satellite alike, forming a protective barrier all of the city, made even more massive by. My eyes widened in wonder as I saw it. However, there was a foreboding black mist gathering around the barrier, evil eyes of all colors peering from the foul-smelling mist. I shuddered, turning my eyes away from the mist, sensing the evil that oozed from it. The dragon made a soft chirring noise.

"_Have comfort, little one. The Breach shall not prevail as long as my dedicated friends exist. You may know three of them already…"_

Images shimmered to focus in my mind. A familiar black haired man hove into view, his yellow highlights glimmering slightly as he smiled at me.

"Yusei! That's Yusei!"

"_Correct."_

Another face hove into view. I-unfortunately- recognized him on sight.

"Jack Atlas!" All the nasty memories of him came into focus. Him telling me off, him laughing when I lost a duel, kicking me when I was down with insults… The rather satisfying memory of when I had clocked him in the nose. I had to get him to bend down- which was rather easy, considering we were at Martha's at the time and I had threatened to scream if he didn't. I giggled quietly, then, to my embarrassment, remembered who I was in the presence of.

"Jack Atlas. We don't have the best relationship…"

"_Young one, I know. However, another woman will grieve deeply if he is left from my care… He is fighting for his life inside The Breach, even now. Many will grieve his loss."_

An image of a smiling woman appeared before me. Her eyes were a soft grey, with warmth and love shining from them as she beamed. Her black hair fell to about her waist, and she wore an outfit consisting of a striped blue and white shirt, an orange bubble vest, and jeans. She also wore an orange fanny pack on her hips, and carried an elderly looking camera. I smiled, then realized something. This was a woman I did not want to see cry. I frowned tiredly. I didn't want to save Jack, but I didn't want to upset this benevolent looking woman either.

"_Her name is Carly Carmine. She cares deeply for my Signer, Jack. The other you may know is with you this moment. . ."_

To my surprise, I saw an image of Crow. His smile, his laughter. His genial treatment of even the most annoying little brats. I found myself getting riled that such shit as The Breach obviously was would ever dare reach for him. He flew too high for such scum to ever desecrate.

"_I'm glad you feel that way. He will be the one you fly the highest for, blackbird."_

Wondering what she (I had a strong feeling that this entity was female, I could be wrong) meant by that exactly, I stayed silent. More images flashed into my mind. A teenage boy and girl, with teal colored hair and nearly identical big grins. The girl seemed oddly familiar… Both twins were laughing, waving at me as they disappeared. Such sweet life. They were so young… _Are they truly one of your acolytes?_

"_Yes. Lifestream Dragon and Fairy Dragon guard these two. You will know the other dragons in time…"_

Another image fluttered into my mind. A smiling woman, slender with long crimson red hair done up prettily and warm brown eyes. She seemed to resonate with me for some reason, similarly to the girl twin. I almost reached out to touch her, and then remembered it was an illusion as she dissolved under my palm. I smiled faintly.

"Why does she feel familiar?"

"_Akiza is similar to yourself. A Psychic Duelist."_

My eyes widened. I couldn't believe it. _There are more of us? How have I not met her before?!_

"_Mere chance. You will meet her soon."_

"Really?"

"_Truly."_

We stayed where we were for a few moments, and I took the time to say, "When do I go back? I have to make sure Crow gets out of this predicament we're in okay."

When the dragon remained silent, I added, "I made a promise. I never break my promises."

"My acolytes need a guide through the coming darkness. Will you promise to be that guide?"

I paused. Such a job would require guiding one of the Universe's most bull headed men, a man with mechanics on the brain, and Crow. Not to mention three others whose personalities I had no idea about. Plus, I was probably younger than all of them, besides the two teenagers. I knew I was a year younger than the Enforcers.

"Why me? Why pick me to guide them? They could probably guide themselves pretty dang well! I mean, they are experienced Signers! I'm just a Duelist from the Satellite who hasn't got very good people skills."

"_They need your aid in the battle before them. Without you, they will fall. Will you make me the vow to guard my acolytes from harm?"_

I felt the heavy weight of such a burden. A being who was as old as time was putting its trust in me for whatever reason. I couldn't, wouldn't betray that trust.

However misplaced it may be.

"I accept."

I saw the world around me beginning to dim. I leaned down to feel the comforting warmth of the dragon's scales for the last time. My eyes fluttered faintly as energy and warmth drained from me. The dragon's warm, resonating voice carried with me even as I was fading from the realm she had taken me into.

"_I will see you again, little songbird. _

With that, everything went black.

* * *

**What do you think? How was Georgiana? What did you think of my first time in Crow's POV? How is the story plot going?**


	5. Chapter 5 New Duty

Song Bird Duelists

A Tale of Love and Betrayal in the Satellite

By: June

Chapter Five: New Duty

"Raeven! Raeven, wake up! They moved the boulder! Come on… Please be okay…."

Crow's pleading voice woke me up. My eyes cracked open slowly to almost blinding light.

Almost blinding because the light was indirect, from the now unblocked cellar doors. I shuddered, turning over and nuzzling into Crow's chest without thinking. What snapped me out of it was a grunt of surprise from one of my "rescuers". My cheeks stained redder, and I instinctively cuddled closer to Crow. I could hear him chewing out the "rescuers", but what I focused on was his arm gently wrapped around my back. My heartbeat sped up and my cheeks flushed. My brain couldn't seem to function properly as Crow gently tapped my shoulder. I looked up at him, my eyes probably wide and childlike looking. I hadn't ever remembered feeling this odd about anyone holding me….

Probably because no male had held me. Not like this. Not like I was the only girl in the world.

_Stupid! He's just concerned as a friend! Don't get narcisstic fool… He would never… _I shut of the thought before it could finish. I couldn't be thinking that way! Not~! I groaned and covered my ears, getting my spinning thoughts back into place. That was a NUTTY idea!

"Raeven?"

"I'm okay. Can we get out now?"

"Yeah. Yusei and Akisa got the boulder loose from the entrance with some help from Luna's Duel Spirits, FINALLY," Crow grumped, giving Yusei an irritable look. I carefully maneuvered out of Crow's arms and onto my not so steady legs. The scarlet haired woman I had seen in my dreams was sitting on the steps, looking tired. A bashful looking young teenage girl was sitting near her on a few steps up, comforting a worried Georgiana and looking kind of pooped herself. I smiled a little uneasily.

"Hey. You're Akisa, right?" I addressed the red haired woman slightly nervously, who looked up in brief surprise.

"Yes. Did Crow tell you about me?"

Her voice was calm but a little curious as she looked at me. Now that I met her, I could sense the power within her. Even though it was different than mine. It seemed…. More pure. Calmer. Not as chaotic as mine. Well, you get the idea.

"No, actually-"

"Hey Aki! You met Raeven yet? She's one of our pals from Martha's house," Crow interrupted, grinning and throwing a chummy arm around my waist. My cheeks flushed scarlet. _Why is he being so nice? Why does he like to touch me so much? Eeep stop thinking about it…. You're going to pass out if you keep on these lines…._

"Crow, give Raeven-chan some space," the teal-haired teenager interrupted, shooting a sympathetic look at me, "She's probably wanting to get out of here."

"Oh, uh, right," Crow said, cheeks pinking sheepishly.

I wiggled loose from his grip and helped Akisa up. She smiled gratefully as Luna chivvied everyone out of the cellar and into the sun. I winced, wanting to duck into the shade of my favorite oak tree, but it would afford little protection since it was leafless right now. There was snow on the ground, making me shiver in the chill that was slowly creeping into my bones despite the strong sunlight after the rain-turned-snow. Snow covered rocks littered the ground around us, and the snow still fell. The plateau edge was even more ragged as a result of the rockslide that had been triggered by god knows what… _Time to distract yourself._ I smiled a little, gazing at the falling flakes. Snow had always been my favorite part of winter.

"Crow, only you could get into such a boneheaded situation!"

"Hey, I was looking for Georgiana! It wasn't my fault there was a rockslide at just the wrong time…"

"Still, Crow, why was Raeven with you? What happened?"

I listened to their bantering with a sense of loneliness. Veering off from the group a little, I watched them even as I shivered. What was the old saying? An outsider looking in… That was how I felt as I watched their easy banter and sibling like squabbles.

Crow was arguing his point hotly to Akisa, who was just as irritably replying and poor Yusei was just looking on with an air of half amusement and half consternation. The teenage girl was looking resigned as she, as well, watched the red heads argue. I smiled, feeling claws rake at me again as I turned away, taking a different route to Martha's front door. I knew the woods around the cottage well, having grown up haunting them and the places of the city no child should ever be exposed to. The trees were bare now, leaving me with a lonely and unprotected feeling- like the leaves of the other three seasons had been my security blanket.

Walking along, I froze when I heard smaller, younger feet pounding in an effort to catch up with me through the remnants of autumn's last gift. I turned on my heel, and saw the teal headed girl, running quickly. I waited for her- why, I don't really know. Maybe I wanted someone to be near who could assuage the loneliness for a few minutes.

Panting, she caught up with me. Leaning over and putting her hands on her knees, she tried to catch her breath. Between puffs, she managed, "H-hey. M-m-my name is Luna. Can we talk for a little while?"

"Sure," I said, waiting until Luna straightened up again. Then I started walking, the gray-gold eyed girl walking beside me.

She smiled up at me, "How old are you? I-I don't mean to be nosy, but I can't quite guess your age… "

"Nineteen years old, and I'll turn twenty next year on July 9th. How about you?"

"I'm thirteen. Do you duel?"

I chuckled at the question, "Growing up around the Legendary Trio and NOT dueling? Impossible. Yeah, I duel."

Luna grinned delightedly, "Leo will love that. He'll probably challenge you to a duel right off the bat. What type of deck do you use?"

"Um… You probably won't have heard of it before. As far as I know, my deck's one of a kind."

"Then Leo will be even more eager to duel you. Can you tell me about it?"

I smiled faintly. Over the years, I had poured my heart and soul into my deck. I loved each card like family, probably because I knew each spirit intrinsically, and they knew me in the same way. _I know some spirits more than I would like to, _I thought with a slightly rueful grin. _Like Jynx Merchant. Even though he loves me like a brother loves a sister, I still find him kind of creepy at times and we argue alot._

"My deck is Rave-type monsters."

"How do they work?"

"They're kind of complicated…. Here, I'll show you one," I said, sliding out one of my favorites. Rave Jester wore an odd combination of medieval court jester attire and a punk rocker. His black hair was up in a mohawk that was halfway covered by half of a neon pink Jester's cap. Luna grinned when she saw him.

"Cool. Could we Duel?"

"Later," I said, sighing, "I need to ask you about something…"

"Sure. Ask away."

"Are you one of the Signers?"

Luna gave me a confused look, "How did you know… Well, yeah."

"What's your gift?"

Luna told me about when she was three years old, she had visited the Duel Spirit World. Which had probably granted her her power of seeing and speaking to Duel Spirits in reality.

"You spent time in Duel Spirit World?" I couldn't have been more surprised about that one if this kid had slapped me with a crowbar.

"Yeah… I'm not sure how though. Maybe it was a part of the Signer thing…"

"Maybe. I… Okay, don't laugh?"

"I won't."

"I can call up Duel Spirits. Or, rather, they seem to like hanging around me... Especially the monsters from my own deck."

"What's so weird about that? Duel Spirits do the same thing with me," Luna said, looking confused, "Regulus is usually guarding me, but he's away on a mission for Ancient Fairy Dragon right now, so Kureibon should be around here somewhere."

"Yeah, well, the funny thing with me is that they're always solid when I'm around. It's like my presence makes them real here too..."

Luna's eyes widened, "Wow. That I can't do. I wonder..." She trailed off, looking thoughtful.

I never got to hear what she was wondering, because we then caught up to the other four. Crow was bickering with Akisa over something, while Yusei just looked on in amusement and Georgiana was cheering on her onii-san. My lips twitched ever so slightly as I slid Rave Jester back into my deck holster.

_Those three are so silly... And I'm supposed to be the one to save them all from *that* thing..._ I sobered at the thought, remembering the corrosive evil that had practically oozed from The Breach... And Jack was out there, in the midst of it. Despite that there was no love lost between Jack and I, I didn't want anyone to suffer like that. My body shuddered instinctively upon realizing what life outside Domino would mean for Jack.

"Raeven? Yooohooo... Anyone home?"

I blinked in surprise. Crow was waving a gloved hand in front of my face. He smiled when he realized he had gotten my attention at last. I swatted his hand away, my cheeks heating up. _Idiot. Don't go messing with my head if you don't really feel anything for me... I don't think I could take it..._

I forced a smile, "Yes? Can I help you Crow?"

"Nah, just checking that you were OK. You kinda seemed like you were going into shock or something."

"I'm fine! Sheesh!" I stalked away irritatedly, turning my back on the puzzled group. I had to have time alone...

Time to digest the fact that I was now the one to save them all... I was so wrapped up in my own world I ran right into Sing. I grunted in surprise, but Sing sorted herself out first. Dark eyes sparkling and white hair muddy, she pounced on me jabbering a mile a minute. I barely managed to sort out one word in three, so I just awkwardly patted her head as the Signer plus one group caught up with us. I didn't have much time to notice much before Sing let go of me, blushing as red as Akisa's hair and babbling incoherently. She was looking at Crow all the while; oddly, even though I had known about my sister's crush on the red headed boy since we were children, my heart felt a vicious squeeze at this reminder.

Crow had been the inspiration for our Dueling names, or so Sing said when asked publicly. We had gotten some publicity about growing up with the Satellite Stars, or Team Satisfaction as they had come to be called. But, I always squashed the rumors of one of us being the childhood love of one or another of Team Satisfaction's members. I hated it especially when I was paired publicly with Jack; for one thing, it didn't make sense, and for another, we had a mutual hatred that prevented even any sort of sibling feeling between us. Or, at least, on my side. I didn't know what the hell Jack thought and didn't care.

On the other hand, I wouldn't mind being paired with Yusei. But from how he looked at Akisa, HIS heart had already long been stolen by the redheaded woman. Crow had always been my sister's man, the one she daydreamed of and wrote those stupid little hearts in her diary for. Once, I saw over her shoulder that she was designing wedding plans... All this when she hadn't even the courage to ask him out... It made me feel even more guilty for that brief rush of feelings when Crow held me. _What kind of sister am I when I enjoy being cuddled by my twin's crush? Stupid, stupid... This is only going to get you a hell of a lot of heartbreak in the end... She's the one with the best plumage. Sing's the one with the sweetest nature... All I am is the croaking raven, feeding on the scraps of life... _

I was brought back to reality with a snap when Crow asked, "Hey, who are you?"

Sing flushed the deeper red of mortification when she realized this question was directed at her. I bristled a bit, "Crow! You grew up with her!"

"Hey, hey, sorry Raeven!

"This is Sing Soong, my twin sister," I introduced patiently.

Now that I thought on it, maybe they really hadn't been introduced... Whenever I played around Crow or Yusei, Sing had been noticeably absent each and every time... At least, I didn't remember them being introduced. Now, she was blushing to the roots of her white hair to meet her childhood idol.

"Er, good to meet you Sing," Crow said, grinning that goofy grin of his.

Sing looked like she was about to faint as she squeaked a barely intelligible reply. I sighed, "She's kind of a fan girl."

"Oh, really? Do you want an autograph or something?" The awkwardness of the statement told me how uncomfortable Crow was with the idea of having a fan girl. I smiled inwardly; Crow was so unlike Jack.

Sing nodded violently, breathing hard and scrabbling around for a pen. When Crow noticed what she was looking for, he started yelping apologies and looking for a pen himself. Funnily enough, he found one first. Sing was forced to blush beet red as, upon her request, he signed her hand.

Akisa muttered, "Wow. Crow hasn't had a fan quite this age before. He doesn't even know what to do with her..."

Yusei snorted softly in agreement as she stated the obvious. Those two were like awkward teenagers on their first date... My thoughts turned to darker directions at the thought of dates. Martha coming over and fussing over Georgiana and the rest of the 5Ds gang lifted me out of the melancholy, but only for a few moments. I meandered away from the group, Sing distracted by Crow and everyone else talking amongst themselves. I looked over at them and an ache of want filled my heart. Somehow, I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Not when I couldn't be a part of their easy manner with each other.

_Why choose me? How am I supposed to guard them? Protect people I barely know? They've been kind enough, but would they doubt me if I said I had been spoken to by the Crimson Dragon? I mean, even I'm doubting my own sanity right now... How am I supposed to convince others that I am not only sane but __the one to save them all in the coming wave of evil when I don't even really believe myself?_

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Looking behind me, I saw a Duel Monster Spirit who looked a whole lot like Rave Queen. This surprised me because I had never been able to accidentally summon Rave Queen before, like Jynx Merchant. She was too powerful for anything but a purposeful visit. Her black hair was spiked into its usual pigtails, her discordant clothes rustling ever so slightly in an unfelt wind. Her warm, dark eyes locked onto mine for the barest of minutes. Then, in a breath, she was gone.

My resolve solidified. If Rave Queen thought I could do this...

I yelped when I felt something wet and slimy smack into my back. I whipped around to see a grinning Crow looking my way. I had nearly forgotten about the snow… Akisa knelt behind Crow. I glared at him. Crow, oblivious as usual, stuck his tongue out at me as if to say "whatcha gonna do about it?"

I laughed when Akisa hit him square in the back. Suddenly caught up by the spirit around me, I knelt down and grabbed a fistful of the snow that was still falling rapidly and silently. Packing it into a snowball, I stood back up. My heart was beating fast; I was excited. I'd almost never been a part of snowball fights before… And I couldn't wait!

Yusei was standing off to the side, smiling as he watched the girls team up with and another boy run out of Martha's house, identical to his twin sister. I grinned evilly. While Leo (I assumed) teamed up with Crow, I got Yusei straight in that weird hairstyle of his. He spluttered, looking too funny in surprise that I'd managed to hit him. I laughed outright, pointing at Yusei and nearly doubling over.

"Hey!"

"Aww! No fair Raeven! He wasn't even a part of this!"

"Well I am now," Yusei laughed, blue eyes sparkling as he went to join the girls. The boys, Leo and Crow, booed him as he sided with the girl he liked.

"Calm down, calm down, I'll make it even," I said, grinning as I moved to stand by Crow.

"Oh, no fair sis! You're so good at throwing snowballs," Sing pouted, "Join us! Then we'll cream the guys!"

_Wow. Even the one you were blushing at before? Huh. Loyalties change fast for you twin…. _

I was hit in the face by a snowball. Growling, I knelt to scoop another one up to face a grinning Crow. _You want the bull? Time to get the horns! _I threw it, and that little rat- no, that pesky bird- dodged it. Grabbing up another handful, I threw it at Crow only for it to disintegrate. So much for throwing good snowballs.

Soon it escalated into a full blown snowball fight. I was just as wrapped up in throwing snowballs as the rest, having the time of my life. I'd never been in a snowball war this big. Or, really, this fun.

Outright laughing, I immersed myself in the fight, hitting anyone who got too close to me. I got hit plenty of times too, and squealed at the feeling of snow slush dribbling down my not so thick t-shirt. But even the getting wet part of the snowball fight was really fun. Luna was squealing with laughter while Leo was fussing at her for getting him in the butt; Yusei and Aki had gotten distracted, which meant they were mostly throwing at each other. The same state existed between me and Crow. Martha and Georgiana had headed inside the moment the snowball fight started; Martha probably didn't want Georgiana to catch cold.

What distracted me from the snowball fight abruptly was hearing a very familiar scream.

"Georgiana!"

Crow and I being of one mind, we both raced over to where we had heard the scream. What we found nearly angered me beyond all reason. In a clearing of the forest, a hulking man held Georgiana in a headlock as he turned to go. I couldn't see one of his eyes, because it was swelling up into a nice shiner. But the other one sent chills down my spine. It was all white, as if he were blind, and shone with an unholy light.

"MARTHA!"

When I looked around the clearing quickly, I snarled softly when I found where the only mother I had ever known lay. Martha was prone on the ground, unconscious. At least, I hoped she was unconscious. Because this idiot had better pray on his knees for mercy if she wasn't. Right now, he'd better think again if he thought he was going to make a quick buck carrying Georgiana off to the slavers that still haunted Satellite.

There would be HELL to pay either way.

"Oi! Hey you, yeah you fucker" I yelled, getting the guy's attention.

All he did was grin manically before starting off again at a fast clip. I ran after him, my focus narrowing to that one man. I refused to let him get away from me. Knowing the forest better than he did, I managed to cut him off before getting out of the forest.

"Hey, you scumbag! Let her go!"

His voice was grating, "And why should I?"

I noticed a Duel Disk on his arm. And then I knew what I had to do. Every Rave monster in my deck was clamoring for it, roaring in hatred of the man who had hurt the woman who took me in without reservations.

"Duel me! Whoever wins gets Georgiana, and if I win I get to turn you in to the authorities."

"Suit yourself, little girl," the man said, cackling raspily as he let her down. Unfortunately, he had already clipped on an iron lead onto Georgiana's neck. Tears were leaking from her blue eyes, and she refused to look at me.

"And if I win?"

In a completely reckless moment, I said, "My life. My life is forfeit if I lose this duel."

"No!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I smiled wanly as I felt the huntress come out in my twin. She wouldn't let this man get away with what he'd done, there was no question. Raeven was one of the fiercest people I had ever known. She may have done some bad things before, when she wasn't in control, but I still loved her. I didn't want her doing something stupid, like she had just done. I sighed unhappily.

_Raeven. You're being stupid. _

_#I'm not. Georgiana's life is on the line, Sing. I don't intend to lose, not to a bozo like him... You trust me, don't you Sing?#_

_We duel **together**. We never lose together._

_#... You know I won't lose. Not with a child's life at stake.#_

_I'm more worried about your own life, you dummy!_

_#SING. LISTEN TO ME.#_

I winced slightly at the volume she put into the thought. We were different than most twins. Ever since we discovered that we had psychic powers, I could reach out to my sister's mind and speak to her. Funnily enough, she couldn't do the same without me initiating the contact first.

_#Georgiana may not be my favorite kid here. But she's still one of Martha's charges. You know we owe her everything, Sing. Don't deny it. __I'm not doing this all for the kid, you know.#_

…_...Oh, fine. You'd better not lose, Raeven._

All I got in return was a cocky feeling. I cut off the link with a bad feeling. Not that my sister would lose, thankfully, more like she had bitten off more than she could chew at one time. Biting my lip, I headed to stand beside Crow as I watched Raeven pluck her Duel Disk from her runner.

* * *

**Raeven's POV**

I ignored Crow's shout in favor of noticing the grim smile that stretched across my foe's tanned face. I could hear Sing coming nearer, after our conversation not bothering to try and convince me out of the duel. Crow, on the other hand, had been trying to get my attention for about five minutes now. I refused to turn my head; Crow would have to wait for my attention.I kept my eyes locked on the man who still held Georgiana by the collar.

"It's a deal then, little bird," he said, his lip twisting, "When I win, I'll break your wings so you'll never fly again."

"Don't get so cocky asshole," I said, smiling calmly at him. I could feel Jynx Merchant materialize beside me breifly as I called my Duel Runner. It was here in seconds, and I reached onto the desk to detach my duel disk. Sliding it on with a firm finality, my focus narrowed to this single Duel. I would finish this cocky bastard if It was the last thing I'd do.

"Let's Duel!"

* * *

**I know, I'm a meanie head for leaving a cliffie. But I had to update. It's been SOOOOOOOO long since I had any inspiration for this story! Please leave a review and tell me how I did :) I'm really eager to know. What do you think about the first Duel of the fanfic coming up next chapter? Wat do you think of the white eyed man who's about to mess with the WROOOONG deck? What do you think of this title for the next chapter: "Chapter Six- Hell to Pay!"? Or should I just call it "The Duel"? What do you think of Raeven's potty mouth? Was it justified, considering Martha was hurt? Or was it uncalled for? **

**Leave a review to answer me these questions! **

**Virtual cookies and hugs to all who review! :) **

**-June**


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